


Then and Now

by INFullMoon



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Introspection, One Shot, Pre-Recall, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 19:44:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13038102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INFullMoon/pseuds/INFullMoon
Summary: It had been a long time since Genji left Overwatch and during that time, many things had happened, including the presumed deaths of Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes. After getting at peace with himself, he decides to pay his respects to his old commanders.





	Then and Now

The skies were a bright shade of blue, the land was bathed in warm sunlight and a gentle breeze made leaves on nearby trees rustle. It was definitely a good day to go for a nature walk in a park or something, or just spending time alongside family and friends in this refreshing day summer day in August..

Yet, Genji found himself at a graveyard, kneeled down in front of two graves and just staring at the names engraved in them. Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, names that were very well known across the entire world, especially that of the former. It had been many years since the passing of those two figures, but it was only now that Genji had found the time to pay them a visit.

After such a long time, was there even a point to visiting their graves? What was he supposed to do? Talk to two rocks for a while and then go home? That wasn’t really going to accomplish anything, it wasn’t like they were going to be listening to his words. But even with all that in mind, Genji found himself unable to move from his spot and stayed there almost completely still.

“You two really did everything together, huh? From serving the army, to fighting off omnics, running Overwatch… and even dying. The graves are even next to each other.” He finally began speaking, a chuckle then escaping him. “What happened to ‘until death do us apart’?”

He wasn’t even sure why he was trying to lighten the mood, was he doing that just to distract himself from the pointlessness of this entire visit, or was he just trying to cheer himself up? It was hard for he to tell.

“Rumor is it that the destruction of the Swiss HQ was caused by a fight between the two of you. I wonder how much of that could be true” He stated in a calm, gentle tone of voice, but then lowered his head and sighed as melancholy began taking over. “And sometimes I cannot help but wonder if I could have done something to prevent all of this.”

He knew that the answer was a simple and straightforward “no”. The Genji of today could perhaps have done something, but this Genji didn’t exist until long after everything had already happened. It was nothing to feel guilty about, but that was hardly the only regret in his mind.

“I was such a pain to both of you and now that I have finally changed for the better, I wish that I could have compensated for everything, but it seems I will never have that chance.” He glanced towards Morrison’s grave and despite himself, smiled. “Although I suppose you one of you had to deal with far less than the other.”

Truth be told, Genji had never had an opportunity to make much of a connection to Jack. Being a part of Blackwatch meant he was more than often taking orders from Gabriel and even when he did do some jobs as part of Overwatch, it was all strictly professional. Genji still had respect towards the Strike Commander, but at the same time that left him without much else to say.

Gabriel, however, was a different story altogether. Genji looked at his grave, seeing his name written in it as well as the date. Guy was already a pretty old dude, much older than him if nothing else, but to go down at even such an age still felt like it was too soon.

“I wonder what you would think of me now. I don’t think the me of today would have been as useful of an asset to you, seeing as I’ve grown much softer since my Blackwatch days.” He paused and soon shook his head at his own foolishness. “Not that you would care anyway. Despite that I was made to be a living weapon and acted as such, focusing solely on what I was told to do while working my own towards my own selfish goals, you still treated me like a person.”

Memories began flooding back regarding his old self, full of hatred and anger, desiring nothing but to take revenge on the people who had tried to kill him and almost succeeded, leaving him in a body that, at the time, he had considered repulsive, even disgusting. He had pushed away everyone who had tried to approach him, yet, there were some people who persevered and broke through the wall of aggression and empty threats. Gabriel was one of those few and even then, Genji had never really shown proper appreciation for the care the commander had shown despite that it would be much more practical to just leave him as what was essentially an emotionless robot.

“Some people considered me a monster, myself included, and seeing some of the things I have done, it was an understandable view.” 

His memories of all the pain he had inflicted on others, directly or indirectly, flashed in his mind for a brief moment. Those were memories that brought shame, but he had learned that there was nothing that could be done to change what happened, that he could only accept it and move on and that dwelling in regret would only keep him further away from atoning.

“I have changed now and I want to make up for all my past mistakes. To offer apologies, to protect instead of simply kill, and offering second chances to those who might be in the wrong path.” He looked up at the bright sky above him, taking a moment to simply breathe. “Then, perhaps one day even someone like me could be worthy of being called a hero.”

And that was when he finally ran out of things to say. That was the time where he decided to take some incense he had brought with him and began burning it. He didn’t have a candle with him, so he had to make do with a cheap lighter, but it got the job done regardless. He let the incense burn and for a while he just remained kneeled down there, meditating and thinking back on his time at Overwatch.

It was funny, if not bittersweet, that such an odd gang of people ended up treating him better than the people he had been around his entire life did. Things that he had taken for granted, such as Angela’s endless concern over his well-being, all of the stupid things Jesse kept roping him into doing, Reinhardt’s boisterous attitude towards everything, Lena non-stop pestering of him almost every single time they made eye contact with each other and even Torbjorn grumpily complaining about life, those were all things that he had begun to deeply miss. Well, at least Angela got back to it eventually, just in letter form.

Eventually he stood up once again and, seeing how the graves of the two commanders were both very dusty, he decided to do one last gesture and clean them up a little. He figured they would have appreciated it, especially Gabriel who always liked to keep everything tidy to the point of being very annoying on occasion.

That much done, he took a few steps back and took one final, long look at the two graves in front of him.

“You two sure left big legacy behind you. I am not sure if II would ever be able to live up to it, but I suppose I will only know by trying.”

Genji then began walking away. Feeling a little lighter now that he had this weight off his shoulders, or perhaps it was because he managed to let out some of the thoughts that had never left his mind. For something that he thought wouldn’t achieve much, he ended up coming out of it with an odd feeling of satisfaction.

The best way to honor those that had fallen was not just through some deep words and rituals, but through action, and the only way for him to honor heroes, was to be a hero himself.


End file.
